How I travel as an EP Mom

I have received a few emails regarding how I managed when travelling.hee

There's no easy way that I will have to stress upon you all mommies.

If you have just started to be a pumper, it could be quite stressful but after sometimes you will get use to it.

I think I've bought all the gadgets needed to travel.

Let's start, shall we?

1. First and foremost, the breastpump. The types of breastpump shall depend on the length of the journey, mode of transportation and conveniences. 

Situation 1: Long journey by plane: Manual pump

Reason: It's mobile, quiet (in case you are seated next to strangers), and small. I use Unimom Mezzo, a manual pump and it works wonders. You dont have to be worried about connecting the tube, or get strangled by them hahaha

 

Image courtesy of Google.

Situation 2: Long journey by car: Electric pump

Reason: more space, no strangers and yield more milk than manual.

Super bulky pump but I love it dearly=))

Situation 3: Short journey by car: Electric pump

I pump on the way to and back from school. It's easy. Who said we need a handsfree kit?? I do it like a pro without them. *mode bangga* hahahaha

Actually, It really depends on the situation

2. Cooler bag or cooler box

So far, I dont need any cooler box. I managed well with only Autumnz cooler bag and Autumn ice packs. I usually prepare 2 bottles with EBM and 8oz of EBM in a storage bag.Enough for 8 hours journey. Plus, I pump on the way to the destination and so far, I havent had any shortage moment. You just need to be careful with the ice packs. I used medela ice brick before but it could only hold up to 8 hours. But Autumnz ice packs are the bomb. 14 hours of journey? No problem!

That's my Autumnz cooler bag. The longest journey we went was the visit to Brunei last year, a day visit which lasted for almost 14hours. It's small but ok for me.hehe sayang cooler bag!

3. A good thermos and warmer

I would suggest  you to invest into a very good one since you will be needing it all the time. Thanks to my diligent research, I found Avent thermos which also works as a warmer. It's a bit pricy (got it for RM129 from Lelong) but I have no one to thank but myself for buying this. Before, we had a normal thermos and the problem came whenever we need to warm the milk. We had to bring along extra cup, or at one point we had to buy Maggi cup, dump the maggi just so we could use the cup to warm the milk.hehe That's why I did my research for this.hehe If you are not a fan of Avent, Tommee Tippee also has this product.



Avent thermos and a bottle of chilled EBM

This is how the thermos works. You dont have to be worried about hot water spilling all over you during bumpy ride because this was geniusly invented where  you can cover the top.teee heee

This is from Tommee Tippee. Photo courtesy of Google.

4. Storage bottle or bag

I used to travel with storage bottles but the amount of bottles that I need to handle - feeding and storage drove me crazy a lil bit. Plus they are not space friendly. After a few times, I started using storage bags instead because they dont take much space and light weight. But you have to consider the budget also la because storage bags aint cheap yo!.But..... If they can help to lift some of the stress while travelling, why not? =p

Ok, done with all the gadgets, now let's go to the tips.

1. Pump when you are on the way to your destination. It's quite a task to pump when you have actually arrived. YOU DONT HAVE to wash the parts everytime after you pump. What you can do is put them in a sealed plastic bag/ zipper bag (can get this at Daiso for RM5 for 10 sheets) and dump them in your cooler box/bag. Then, it can be used again for next session.

2. Work smart. My advise is to get a pump that is compatible to any storage bottles to make your life at peace. Why at peace?? To avoid spill. Yeap..been there done that a few moments when I tried to transfer EBM from the pump bottle to storage bottle when the car suddenly hit a bump and there goes.....2oz spilled all over my pants T____T. If you already bought one pump that isnt compatible, like yours truly here who is using Spectra S1, you can buy neck bottle adapter from Pumponthego for RM12 each.

If not, like me, I just transfer EBM into storage bags.haha wide opening and also save space to store more. =p. 

3. Dont worry about running out of hot water to warm your milk. So far, in my experience, I had no problem with this because I always topped it up when we stopped for a quick rest or meal. Usually, we buy a glass of plain water for 20cents right? But, when I showed my thermos to the shop owner, they all gave the hot water for free. Mungkin niat sedekah kot untuk baby.hehehe 

Just be smart ok mommies. Know when you should top up/get a new batch of hot water to warm the milk.

I hope I have answered some of your questions mommies. If not, feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email =)